They may be talented actors or actresses, but these 5 stars say their jobs were shaken up when they were asked to sing for a role. Branching out into a whole new area that they’ve never tackled before, these celebs have commented on being terrified by the idea of getting vocal for a part because they didn’t have confidence in their singing voice. Here is what they’ve said about trying the new experience!
Cameron Diaz
Cameron had to learn how to sing well for her part in ‘Annie’ and says she did find it scary at first: “Even though I was terrified of singing, I just had to do it. On Annie, I cried uncontrollably. Everybody was so supportive because I was so pathetic. But we laughed a lot too, because the only way to get through scary things is to have a sense of humour about them. I did a lot of training to help me find a voice that was presentable.”
Emily Blunt
Emily had to sing for her part in ‘Into the Woods’, and she says tackling the musical part of the job was very scary but ultimately fulfilling: “What became clear eventually was that the film required actors not singers. The baker’s wife has some big musical numbers that required a lot of acting. So what started off being a really daunting process became one of the most fulfilling things of my entire life. The exciting part of recording the music and Stephen came over and recorded it with us. He has very specific notes about how he wants things to be sung. It was very reassuring having Stephen come in saying “don’t sing it perfectly”.
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer sang a song in ‘Hunger Games’ but according to the film’s director, the actress did not have fun singing it: “She’d probably tell you it was her least favourite day. She was horrified to sing, she cried a little bit in the morning before she had to sing. But she did it and she did it all day – and she hated me for making her do it all day – but she did and it’s great.”
Nicole Kidman
Nicole appeared in ‘Nine’ which required her to sing even though she didn’t feel comfortable: “I was terrified of it, I am not a natural singer in the sense that I don”t love getting up in front of a group of people and just belting out a tune. It needs to be coaxed out of me because I want my voice to tell a story and sometimes it doesn”t have the capacity to do that. When Nine director Rob Marshall approached me, he told me a role had been written especially.”
Tom Hardy
Speaking on taking on the role of Elton John, Tom says he is afraid of the part because he thinks he can’t sing well: “Otherwise I’ll have probably failed, right? But that’s terrifying me, I can’t hold a tune to save my life.”
